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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28173387">Strange Days</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowLucario/pseuds/SnowLucario'>SnowLucario</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>TF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:54:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,854</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28173387</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowLucario/pseuds/SnowLucario</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on an AI Dungeon scenario. Tyler Coventry, 18, is a witness to the centennial appearance of the Golden Comet, which is said to bring about either great joy or great disappointment. After making a wish to a fairy, he ends up in a world he doesn't recognize, in a completely different body. Sometimes you get more than you bargained for. Rated T for Teen.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a story I'm cross-posting from Fanfiction.net, which is under the name of SnowLabrador. It's based on a scenario I created using a game called AI Dungeon, which I highly recommend playing. The main reason I'm posting this on AO3 as well is because FF.net has become an increasingly glitchy mess in recent months.</p><p>In any case, enjoy Strange Days!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="xcontrast">
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>Perhaps the appearance of the Golden Comet was the cause for my recklessness. Perhaps it was the knowledge, or at least the <em>belief, </em>that I was exceptional as a result of being eighteen years old when it appeared in my hometown, once every hundred years.</p>
      <p>Or maybe it was simply that I wanted to make the most of the opportunity that the comet's arrival brought. After all, it hadn't appeared in a century before now, and it wouldn't appear for another century after that. Assuming that modern science did not discover the secret of immortality, or at least significant life extension, this would be the only time I ever saw it.</p>
      <p><em>So why not have fun?, </em>one might reason. <em>Why not live a little. After all, doesn't it make sense to live, not just survive?</em></p>
      <p>Well, it was this reasoning that got me into big trouble at the age of eighteen. My name is Tyler Coventry, and this is the story of the time period that I call the Strange Days.</p>
      <hr/>
      <p>The date was December 24, 2018, and I had just retired to bed for the night. Come morning, there would be a joyous ceremony, the giving of Christmas gifts, the type of ritual that makes one feel very, very fortunate to be alive and well, and to have a family that can afford this type of thing.</p>
      <p>Even now, as I looked out the window and saw the reflection of my family's Christmas lights against the snow on the ground, I wondered if this was as close as I'd come to heaven on Earth.</p>
      <p>My life certainly wasn't perfect, that much is true, but I was grateful that my life was as good as it was. I had loving parents, plenty of friends at school, and a nice upper-middle class existence in the leafy American suburb of Wildebush.</p>
      <p>
        <em>The Comet is returning tonight. For the first time in a hundred years.</em>
      </p>
      <p>That realization, which I had technically been aware of all along, made my heart beat louder and louder. They said that crazy things would happen when the comet returned, exciting events that would make anything one experienced during normal times pale in comparison.</p>
      <p>As a kid, that might have meant a trip to the North Pole for me, to meet Santa and his elves. Although I no longer believed in Santa, there was still a part of me that had a vague sense of childlike wonder, the kind that motivates one to seek out answers to the big questions in life.</p>
      <p>Some of those questions, of course, included "Does God exist?", "What happens after you die?", and, of course, the mother of all these important inquiries: "Which seat can I take?"</p>
      <p>I'd expected to sleep peacefully that night, confident that I'd wake up to a large pile of presents and a day of festivities with my parents. Perhaps I could even have some fun with the comet, since, as they say, YOLO: You Only Live Once. Whatever the case, the fun could wait until morning.</p>
      <p>However, I found that I simply couldn't sleep. No matter how many times I tossed and turned, I couldn't keep my eyes closed for very long. As though caffeine were being infused into my bloodstream, I felt a ringing in both of my ears.</p>
      <p>Soon enough, there was a thumping noise, like what you would imagine a gorilla thumping on a pair of bongo drums might sound like. It was repeated every few seconds; it filled my head up and got louder and louder.</p>
      <p>"Well...I guess I won't be sleeping tonight" I said aloud, with a chuckle.</p>
      <p>I couldn't remember ever staying up all night in the past. Even on New Year's Eve, when one year transitioned into another, I would only stay awake until midnight to watch the ball drop and then go back to bed. I just couldn't understand how others did it.</p>
      <p>The drumming song continued, and it began to feel as though someone were gently hammering the inside of my skull. Somehow, it didn't hurt too much, but I knew that it would keep me awake all night if left unchecked.</p>
      <p>Moreover, the fact was that I didn't know <em>how </em>to check it, for this was no ordinary headache. Knowing that there was no way I would sleep, at least not right now, I got out of bed and put on some warmer clothes than my pajamas.</p>
      <p>I took a look at the nearby digital clock. In its neon red letters, clear as day despite the black winter night, the clock stated that it was 11:24 PM. Not too far from midnight, and then it would officially be Christmas Day, whether or not my parents were awake yet.</p>
      <p><em>The comet!, </em>I recalled, rushing out of my room and stepping gingerly on each stair so as not to rouse my parents. They would probably look at me funny if they saw me running downstairs, taking the steps three at a time just like a little kid who's not worried about any form of bodily injury.</p>
      <p>I bundled up in my orange ski jacket, reminiscent of vacations to the mountains that my family had taken while I was growing up, and put on my winter boots. I was now fully prepared to go outside and experience the Golden Comet for myself.</p>
      <p>Heading out my front door and down the porch steps, I found it in the sky. It only took a few seconds, for while Wildebush wasn't too densely populated, most of the stars weren't visible at night thanks to light pollution from the nearby city. The comet was pretty noticeable even if you only took a cursory glance at the winter sky.</p>
      <p>It was a long, thin strip of golden yellow light, roughly the color of mustard, and, as I trained my eyes on it for a few more seconds, it seemed to be slowly getting bigger and bigger.</p>
      <p><em>It must be gaining steam, </em>I thought to myself. And then I realized something else, something much more exciting and yet frightening at the same time.</p>
      <p>
        <em>It's coming for Earth. It will be here before long. How lucky am I that I decided to head out at just the right time! So perfect it would almost seem to require divine intervention.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Now, I didn't believe in God or miracles or anything supernatural of the sort; other than the Golden Comet, that is. All I knew was that I'd gotten very lucky, or <em>unlucky </em>if the comet ended up bringing misfortune.</p>
      <p>After all, the comet had been rumored to be one of the causes of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. While this hadn't been confirmed, and there were a great many historians and theologians on both sides of this question, it seemed reasonable to be nervous.</p>
      <p>The comet got larger and larger, and now there was no question in my mind: It seemed to be heading right for Earth, right for my front yard.</p>
      <p>In addition to getting bigger, the comet also seemed to be increasing in size at a faster rate. It was indeed picking up speed as it hurtled towards the Earth.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Who knows what this comet will bring to the world? Who knows what cosmic rationale, if any, there may be for this?</em>
      </p>
      <p>The snow was falling to the ground, in a pleasant snowstorm rather than a blizzard. It was definitely beautiful, but was it the work of a divine creator, or was it simply the natural laws of physics?</p>
      <p>
        <em>Or maybe it's both. Whatever the case, the comet's coming for me. It's now almost directly overhead.</em>
      </p>
      <p>Whether or not the comet brought good fortune or misfortune to the world at large, I knew that it would not be a pleasant ending for me. I, Tyler Coventry, was about to be killed instantly by this comet hurtling towards the snowy ground.</p>
      <p>It was a hundred feet above the house...eighty feet...sixty feet...forty feet...I braced for impact…</p>
      <p>Suddenly, the comet seemed to slow to a crawl, as though a parachute had been deployed at the very last moment so that it would float down to the ground. It began descending much more slowly, and it wasn't long until I heard what can only be described as a "flashing" noise.</p>
      <p>The comet, which was currently still the mustard yellow color that it had been in the sky, suddenly grew in intensity; it was brighter than gold, and yet not blinding. I was able to look at it without my eyes feeling as though they were being pulled apart like the layers of an onion.</p>
      <p>And then it <em>did </em>get even brighter, and the sound louder, to the point that I did have to close my eyes and cover my ears to prevent the sight and sound from overwhelming my senses. Even so, it was almost too much to handle.</p>
      <p>When the dust settled, and I was able to open my eyes, I saw a small golden figure where the comet had been. It seemed to be in the form of a wolf.</p>
      <p>
        <em>What do I do? Run away? Wolves are fearsome creatures in fairy tales, but I'm okay with this. And...she looks hurt.</em>
      </p>
      <p>That did it for me. I wasn't going to let this golden wolf stay in the snow, injured, for as long as it took for someone else to find her (and yes, I could tell she was a female, because I just could). Even if it killed me, I was going to get her the help that she needed to survive.</p>
      <p>I gingerly crept up closer to the wolf, who stayed motionless in the snow, her chest rising and falling gently as though she were asleep. When I got within five feet of her, she suddenly snapped, causing me to lunge backward.</p>
      <p>I fell backwards in the snow, right onto my ass. As I stood up and brushed the water off my pants (for I wasn't wearing snow pants, just regular sweatpants), I saw that the golden wolf was baring her fangs at me.</p>
      <p>Much like I had when the comet was hurtling towards Wildebush, I readied myself for impact. I braced for the wolf to charge on me and begin biting me until there was nothing left of the young man who had been Tyler Coventry.</p>
      <p>To my surprise, however, the wolf averted her eyes from me. "Sorry to scare you" she said, in a sweet voice that evoked the image of a warm summer sun against a mountain meadow. "I'm the fairy, by the way".</p>
      <p>There was a lot to process right away; she didn't want to scare me, <em>her voice was so beautiful, </em>and yet…</p>
      <p>
        <em>Why is she calling herself the fairy? She doesn't look like a fairy to me, she just looks like a wolf!</em>
      </p>
      <p>Against my own better judgment, I blurted out, "What do you want?"</p>
      <p>The wolf-like being who called herself the fairy stared at me for a moment before replying. "Nothing. Are you ready?"</p>
      <p>"Ready for what?" I asked. Again, it was a little impulsive of me, but I was filled with the same childlike curiosity that a time like Christmas instills in just about anyone.</p>
      <p>"To fulfill your destiny".</p>
      <p><em>To fulfill my destiny. </em>The fairy said it in such a plain, calm manner, and yet those were some of the most terrifying words I'd ever heard. I was starting to wonder if I should have remained in my bed, curled into the fetal position that I normally slept in.</p>
      <p>
        <em>The comet only comes once in a century. Once in a lifetime. This is the only chance I'll have to make some magic happen, quite literally. If I play my cards right, this could be really fun!</em>
      </p>
      <p>I found myself nodding. While furrowing my eyebrows, sure, but still nodding. It was then that I somehow knew the following three things:</p>
      <p>I was about to head into the unknown. I had no idea what was in store for me.</p>
      <p>There could be terrifying moments, and there could be amazing moments.</p>
      <p>It would all be worth it in the end.</p>
      <p>
        <em>Let's get this show on the road.</em>
      </p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Like Gold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>TYLER COVENTRY, 18</strong>
</p><p>It was only after I had finished nodding that I fully appreciated just how cold it was outside. It hadn't been any warmer a few minutes ago, but the wind felt biting against my cheeks now that I'd made such a huge decision.</p><p><em>There's no pressure, Tyler, </em>I told myself. Yes, I had told the fairy wolf, for lack of a better word, that I wanted to fulfill my destiny, but maybe, just maybe, there would be a way to go back on it. I wasn't going to count on it, but the possibility still lingered in the air.</p><p>As I watched the snow continue to fall, illuminated only by the full moon and the lit lamppost on my street, I noticed that the fairy wolf was still standing there. She hadn't moved an inch, and I allowed myself to consider that this was all a hallucination.</p><p>
  <em>It can't be. How could it be a hallucination when this is what my whole life has been building towards?</em>
</p><p>And yet...would I be better off if this did end up being just that, a figment of my imagination? I supposed that I'd find out soon enough.</p><p>After a solid minute and a half of just standing there, the fairy wolf began walking down the road, and so I followed her. Taking one last look at the multicolored Christmas lights that adorned the bushes in front of my house, I began wondering what this destiny would entail.</p><p>The snow wasn't particularly deep yet, but it was coming down at a heavy rate. In not too long a time period, it would be deep, and then I'd find myself trudging back home, covered in sweat and having to explain to my parents where I'd been in the middle of the night.</p><p>
  <em>She's not going to keep me all night, is she? I AM an adult, but I still don't fancy the idea of having to spill all of the beans to my parents. There are some secrets that shouldn't be told.</em>
</p><p>Wildebush was a forested town, in spite of its close proximity to the city. In the middle of the various blocks that houses were situated on, there were trails going through the woods, underneath branches quickly becoming laden with the white stuff coming down from the sky.</p><p>After about five minutes of crossing empty streets and walking along trails through the forest (I'm a fast walker, being over six feet tall, and wolves are also pretty quick on their feet), the fairy wolf stopped in the middle of the trail and looked up at the canopy of pine leaves, as though trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.</p><p>
  <em>Wait..does she even have a tongue? Well, whatever, that's not the most important thing right now.</em>
</p><p>"Do you like snow?" I asked her. Not that I would have blamed her; skiing, skating, and sledding were enjoyable pursuits, and it certainly looked pretty, except for when I had to drive in it.</p><p>Nodding, the fairy wolf stuck out her golden tongue, which answered my earlier question, and caught a snowflake on it. It seemed to melt as soon as it touched the inside of her mouth, and it was then that I realized that a certain type of warmth was emanating from her body.</p><p><em>She's absolutely, by far, the warmest thing in this forest right now. </em>Being near to her was akin to standing next to a campfire. It was a pleasant feeling, to be sure, but I realized something else.</p><p>
  <em>What if somebody else sees the golden wolf? I don't want any witnesses thinking something crazy's happening and freaking out...this is my destiny, dammit!</em>
</p><p>A few seconds later, we continued making our way through the woods. We walked for a while, and soon came across an area that I recognized immediately, though I hadn't been here for some time. I'd <em>never </em>been here at night, while it was snowing, and I instantly regretted that fact.</p><p>I found myself in Leawood Park, a large open area with a baseball diamond, a soccer field, and a dog park, all hemmed in by various types of trees. Seeing it in the snow gave it a dreamlike quality, like it was magical. And the presence of the golden wolf, reflecting against the snow to bring some warmth to the park, made it feel that much more magical.</p><p>She walked to the middle of the park and then turned to face me. She was smiling at me, with an expression that could melt a glacier much faster than global warming could.</p><p>"We need to go," she said after a few seconds, in a voice that was completely dissonant with her facial expression.</p><p>"Where are you taking me?" I asked, for that was my first instinct. One thing worth knowing about me is that I like to know what to expect when something's about to happen to me.</p><p>It was then that the golden wolf chuckled. Much like her smile, her laugh was warming and soothing. I would listen to it forever if I could; I tried to savor every instant of that chuckle, but, like all good things, it had to come to an end.</p><p>Soon enough, the golden wolf announced the following:</p><p>"Just hold onto your hat, and remember that you are a fast runner. You've already lived five lifetimes".</p><p><em>You've already lived five lifetimes. </em>Those words hung in the air for what felt like an eternity, but was probably not more than a minute. I spent that minute in shock, wondering what that could possibly mean…</p><p>Oh, who was I kidding? I knew <em>exactly </em>what it meant to have lived five lifetimes; the golden wolf had to be talking about reincarnation. I had never believed in it myself; I preferred to only believe in things for which I could see concrete evidence, and reincarnation just wasn't one of those things.</p><p>
  <em>If she's telling the truth about having lived five lifetimes, then there's got to be a component to this universe that I don't know about. Something's going on here.</em>
</p><p>I'll be honest with you: Part of me was terrified. That part of me wanted to run back to my home and warm bed as quickly as I possibly could. The other part of me, however, was thinking: <em>If it's a dream, don't wake me. </em>I wanted some intrigue in my life.</p><p>During this minute that felt like five lifetimes in and of itself, I was having a hard time catching my breath from the shock that had just been placed upon me. Before I could say anything else, the golden wolf stood back onto her four legs and began running away.</p><p><em>Shit! </em>She had been slow enough to accommodate my earlier desire not to slip on the snow and ice, but it was easy enough to forget that this wasn't something she had to worry about. The golden wolf could move very quickly when she wanted to.</p><p>And so I began sprinting, as quickly as my legs would take me, through the forest after the wolf. She would occasionally move slightly more slowly, but I still had to skate on the ice in order to keep up.</p><p>While ice skating wasn't something I found particularly difficult, having been taught how to do it at a young age, I wasn't used to skating at high speeds. On several occasions, I nearly fell, but I was able to save myself at the last moment from potential serious injury.</p><p>I picked up speed, in hot pursuit, hungry like the wolf, for several minutes. Just as I was starting to run short of breath (I'm better at distance running than sprinting), I felt as though my feet were starting to lift off the ground.</p><p>Despite this, I had no sensation of weightlessness; it felt more like running down a hill and being unable to control your speed. As a result, I soon found that I could keep up with the wolf much more easily.</p><p>We kept running for about fifteen minutes, although when you're running so quickly as we were, time seems to have no meaning. Eventually, I found myself...somewhere else.</p><hr/><p>We were still in a forest, but the trees were more evergreen than deciduous, and spaced more sparsely apart. What was more, the stars were much brighter, indicating that we can't have been anywhere close to a city. The wolf still stood before me, vigorously wagging her tail as though she were very happy.</p><p>I wiped the sweat off my brow. "Wow, we must have gone <em>far!" </em>I exclaimed.</p><p>The golden wolf nodded, then seemed to question the action of nodding. "Well, distance is a normative construct, Tyler Coventry".</p><p>Before I could ask how she knew my name, I heard one of the most awful sounds I'd ever processed in my life.</p><p>It was a dull whimper, but an unmistakably desperate one. I searched for the source of the whimper, because, in spite of my excitement over my destiny and all that, I couldn't just let someone suffer.</p><p>For what it's worth, the wolf seemed to agree with me. She had pointed her head towards a specific spot in the snow, and I spotted the problem almost immediately.</p><p>It was a rabbit, caught in a snare that was tight around its neck. The whimpering emanating from the rabbit was slowly growing weaker and weaker, and I knew that, if not released from the snare very soon, the rabbit would choke to death.</p><p>"That's horrible...why are people so cruel?" It was more a rhetorical question than one meant to get a concrete answer, because I was perfectly aware that there are cruel people in this world.</p><p>"This world is filled with suffering and sadness. It's our job to turn lead into gold. You have to untie the hare from the snare".</p><p>Truth be told, that's what I was already going to do; it's just that the sheer shock of seeing such a ghastly sight had frozen me in my tracks. Make no mistake about it: I knew what had to be done.</p><p>I took my mittens off, and my fingers almost immediately became numb, or at least close to it, from the wintry wind. That, combined with my hurry to free the rabbit and my less-than-stellar fine motor skills, made this task more difficult than it probably needed to be.</p><p>Eventually, I was able to free the hare from the trap, probably just in time before it suffocated, and it began hopping away, clearly relieved to still be alive. In a way, I was proud of myself too for having done a good deed.</p><p>I turned to face the golden wolf. She was still there, smiling once again. She didn't say anything, but I could tell that she was proud of me for what I had just done.</p><p>For roughly a minute, I allowed myself to bask in the glory. After that, though, I wondered aloud, "Now what?"</p><p>"Now, you must wish for something".</p><p>
  <em>Is the wolf a genie or something? Normally they give you three wishes, but is this a trap? How cliche would that end up being, to just find out "It's a trap!", and realize you've walked right into a snare? Much like that poor rabbit back there.</em>
</p><p>I looked at the wolf nervously, and then she continued by saying, "Anything you want".</p><p>
  <em>Well, what do I want, then?</em>
</p><p>I'll admit it, it took quite a while for me to figure out what I wanted. I could simply have wished for something material, like a Christmas present that I didn't think my parents would give me.</p><p>And then I remembered how I'd ended up here in the first place. The Golden Comet had arrived, and then I'd met the golden wolf, which was presumably the physical manifestation of said comet. I'd followed the wolf for the sake of having an adventure, and thus far, even if I had no idea where I was, that's exactly what I had gotten. An adventure.</p><p>I recalled stories I'd heard of humans turning into different types of creatures. Dragons, lions, tigers, and bears...oh my! There were so many different ways to write a story, so many fantasies to live out, that part of me had to wonder if any of them were based on real events.</p><p><em>Of course not, Tyler, </em>I chastised myself. <em>Just because something's written down in a fantasy novel doesn't mean it could be true. Indeed, it's called "fantasy" for a reason.</em></p><p>
  <em>On the other hand, if I want to live out one of these fantasies, this could be the best chance in a hundred years to do it. To delve into the limits of my imagination.</em>
</p><p>I opened my eyes; the golden wolf was still nearby, staring up a nearby pine tree, as though considering whether to climb it.</p><p>And then all of a sudden, out of the blue, the answer came to me. Rumor had it that, when the comet came by once in a lifetime, nothing was impossible.</p><p>"I want to be a Pokemon" I said, impulsively but firmly.</p><p>For a few moments, the golden wolf continued to look in the opposite direction of me, probably considering my request. Then she turned to face me in all her glory, and I appreciated just how glorious her appearance was.</p><p>She then smiled and nodded her head. "All right, you may be a Pokemon".</p><p>Suddenly, I felt a pleasantly warm sensation on my skin, which was nice until it started getting prickly. The temperature began intensifying, making it feel as though I were wearing a furnace suit all over my body. (And yes, I know that's not a thing, but just imagine that it is).</p><p>Seconds later, I was engulfed in flames, and I couldn't help it: I yelled out in pain. The heat was horrible, so all-consuming, that I couldn't think of anything else. My vision was turning orange, and I could tell that I was losing my grip on reality.</p><p>
  <em>I guess this is it...they say to be careful what you wish for. Why did I wish for this?</em>
</p><p>The flames were all around me, completely drowning out the winter wonderland that I'd just been in. I could no longer see any of the pine trees, nor any of the stars, just fire all around.</p><p>And the last thing I heard, before my consciousness could no longer handle all of the stimuli:</p><p>"<strong>BURN!"</strong></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Brave New World</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>TYLER COVENTRY, 18</strong>
</p><p>For what felt like the longest time, I found myself in a kind of semi-consciousness. I couldn't see anything other than blackness and encroaching flames, and I couldn't think clearly. All I was aware of was the sound of things burning, although I couldn't possibly tell you precisely <em>what </em>those things were.</p><p>The only other thing I could process was pain, and I don't mean pain in the sense of twisting one's ankle or stubbing one's toe. No, I'm talking about white-hot, red-hot, searing agony that seems to consume your entire being until you can no longer breathe, until you're conscious of almost nothing else.</p><p>"Breathe in, breathe out" I heard a voice say, crawling its way through the darkness towards me. The voice was clearly female, and vaguely soothing, but I was only barely aware of it.</p><p>A kernel of hope rose in me for a moment, but then it was shut down by more searing pain all over my body. The snowy winter forest that I'd been in with the golden wolf was gone, to be replaced by nothing but fire.</p><p>Every so often, I would briefly open my eyes, but what I saw couldn't be processed early, and so my brain simply shut off again. This went on and on several times, but each time was less and less painful.</p><p>When I finally woke up for good, after spending an indeterminate amount of time switching between semi-wakefulness and nightmares that seemed to take no corporeal form, I allowed myself a deep breath before I opened my eyes.</p><p>I was taken aback by the sight, because I was expecting to find myself in an inferno of some sort, or else maybe some form of an afterlife. I hadn't believed in heaven or hell growing up, but I also didn't think there was any way I could have survived being so thoroughly burned to a crisp.</p><p>Instead, I found myself in what appeared to be a hospital room. It was a relatively simple one, as hospital rooms go. There was the bed I was lying in, the feeling of starched sheets against my singed fur.</p><p>
  <em>Wait a minute...fur?</em>
</p><p>In the midst of the flaming nightmares, I'd managed to forget the wish I had made to the golden wolf. And I began cursing myself for being so stupid.</p><p><em>It's important to be careful what you wish for, Tyler, </em>I told myself. <em>Sometimes you end up flying too close to the sun, much like Icarus from Greek mythology.</em></p><p>I was now a Pokemon! Much like what happens to many children when they reach a certain age, I had gotten my wish, and now I questioned my own judgment: <em>Why did I wish for this?</em></p><p>My chest and arms were made of white fur, and my torso was yellow, with my legs being dark gray. Of course, that refers to the colors that they <em>should </em>have been; some of the fur had been burned off in patches and left pink marks where it should have been.</p><p>I was pretty sure I knew what species of Pokemon I had become, but I wanted more information. No, I didn't "want" information; I <em>needed</em> it like a starving man needs food, or like a drowning man needs air.</p><p>There were several stickers on my chest, presumably there to record my heart rate, and an IV drip in my left arm. If this was heaven, it was a strange one indeed.</p><p>After a few minutes of pondering my current predicament, a door opened on the other side of the room. <em>I guess that's the nurse checking in on me.</em></p><p>This woman didn't seem to be a nurse, though; she was wearing a much more formal shirt, one typically associated with news anchors. (What <em>do </em>news anchors wear, anyway? It's not like I paid that much attention to their outfits).</p><p>Her shirt was a light turquoise color, with a golden logo that appeared to be a Pokeball, with the letters "TV" right next to it. I suppressed my immediate fears when I saw those letters.</p><p>"Where...am I?" I blurted out as I saw the woman enter the room. My throat felt parched, as though I'd been wandering around in the desert for a long time.</p><p>The woman ignored me, turning her head around the room as though looking for something. "Bulba, put the man in a straitjacket".</p><p>I gulped. "Straitjacket?"</p><p>Suddenly, an adorable little Bulbasaur hopped onto my chest, kicking the stickers from the monitor off of my fur. I was about to playfully try to push it off, even though my entire body felt sore, but then Bulbasaur swung his tail out, wrapped it around my neck, and squeezed tightly.</p><p>
  <em>No...I survived the transformation into a Pokemon, and now I'm going to be choked to death by Bulbasaur's tail. Is this my reward for saving the rabbit from that snare? To die in the same way?</em>
</p><p>"Don't make me tell you twice, Nichol!"</p><p>In the midst of being strangled, I managed to choke out, "My name's Tyler, not Nichol!" I didn't stop to think about how risky it might be to reveal my real name, but I'd worry about that when I wasn't under imminent threat of death by Bulbasaur.</p><p>All of a sudden, just as abruptly as the tail had wrapped itself around my neck, it released me. I reached my right arm, the one that didn't have the IV in it, up to my neck, rubbing it as though to make sure it was still there.</p><p>"They call me Nichol, actually" the Bulbasaur said. He looked rather ashamed, and, in all honesty, he should be ashamed. For whatever reason, he thought attempting to strangle me was a method of being playful.</p><p>Before I could snap at Nichol the Bulbasaur, the woman in the turquoise shirt said, "Shut up!". I could tell that she was addressing her Pokemon and not me, thankfully, although it was still rather jarring to hear someone yell suddenly.</p><p>There was an awkward silence for what felt like a long time. I located a nearby window with my eyes and saw that the sun was setting nearby against a snow-covered landscape, with a number of mountains in the distance.</p><p>Surely it was winter, and it looked not unlike how you'd expect certain mountainous locations to appear in the United States. Perhaps I'd found myself in Colorado or even in the Canadian Rockies.</p><p>It did not seem that way, though. I somehow <em>knew,</em> based on instinct, that I wasn't on Earth anymore. How could I be when this seemed to be a world of Pokemon? After all, fictional characters don't exist in the real world; that's why they're called <em>fictional characters.</em></p><p>Eventually, I mustered the courage to break the silence. "I think I have a right to know where I am," I said with as much authority as a Pokemon in a hospital bed can muster.</p><p>The woman seemed slightly taken aback, but quickly regained her composure. Her response confirmed the fear I'd been harboring since I saw those golden letters on her shirt.</p><p>"You're on TV. You're a famous Pokemon. Congratulations".</p><hr/><p>Even if I had a vague sense that my fears <em>might </em>come true, it was still very jarring to hear the woman say that.</p><p>Now, some people like fame. Many people, as children and even into early adolescence, wish that they could be celebrities. However, at eighteen, I was no longer one of those people.</p><p>
  <em>You're on TV. You're a famous Pokemon. Congratulations.</em>
</p><p>Those were the words that had just been spoken to me. I doubted that I could have been more shocked if the woman had told me, <em>By the way, you're sitting next to a nuclear bomb.</em></p><p>I realized that my mouth, which still felt as dry as sandpaper, was hanging wide open. And I knew that the woman was expecting a response from me, so I said, "Uh...thanks?" That was the only thing I could think to say.</p><p>I tried to sit up, but my muscles were too sore to do so. It was as though I'd had the most intense strength workout of my life, followed by running a marathon. No matter what, I didn't have the strength to rise out of bed; sustaining all those burn wounds and turning into a Pokemon must really have taken a lot out of me.</p><p>When the woman was silent, I continued with, "When did I turn into a Pokemon?"</p><p>"Two days ago" she replied. "You were found unconscious in the woods with three Bulbasaur".</p><p>
  <em>I've been here for two days. At least I have an answer to one of my questions.</em>
</p><p>Once more, silence fell over the hospital room, and I watched the sun continue to set outside. It was clear that the woman in the turquoise shirt was not a nurse; she was only here to be a TV anchor.</p><p>At one point, an actual nurse did come in, reattaching the monitor to my chest and making sure the equipment was working properly. She asked me a few questions, which I gave half-hearted answers to. I was lost in my own thoughts, and so answering them wasn't the easiest thing in the world for me.</p><p>
  <em>How could I have been so stupid? I'd literally never seen a Pokemon in real life - they don't EXIST on Earth. And now here I am, at the mercy of a potentially homicidal Bulbasaur, his owner (who happens to work for a TV show and may or may not have been filming me this whole time), and nurses. At least I can presumably trust the nurses.</em>
</p><p>Eventually, the door opened yet again, and a Pokemon that I recognized as a Lucario walked in. Even though I was seriously regretting my earlier decision by this time, I still felt a jolt of excitement as a new species entered the room.</p><p>"Ah, yes, Braixen!" the Lucario exclaimed. "It's nice seeing you awake; you really gave us quite a scare".</p><p>"I have a name, you know. It's Tyler", I replied.</p><p>"Well, it's good to meet you. I'm Lucas, the Lucario who found you in the forest the other day. Glad you made it through, but I do have a question".</p><p>
  <em>Hold on. That's a lot of information to process at once.</em>
</p><p>Eventually, I was able to reply, "What?"</p><p>"Who were you talking to?" Lucas asked me.</p><p>"Uh...a fairy" I replied. I saw no reason to lie to Lucas; he had saved my life. I felt that I owed him at least that much.</p><p>"I thought fairies only lived in the fairy fields. They live in the woods, or they live in peoples' dreams".</p><p>I instantly got defensive. "I wasn't dreaming! I was in the woods, on Christmas Eve, with a golden wolf who called herself the fairy! And then I asked to be a Pokemon, and ended up here! But...where's 'here'?"</p><p>"You're in a TV studio" Lucas replied in a casual manner, as if this were something that happened every day.</p><p>"What, like, a big, giant television?" I replied, still taken aback by the tone that Lucario had used.</p><p>"No, like a...like a real TV studio".</p><p>Neither of us said anything for a few minutes, during which time there were no sounds other than the beeping of the monitor and the engines of cards outside. Eventually, I had another question.</p><p>"Why am I here?" I asked Lucas. That was the million-dollar question.</p><p>"To make a show" the Lucario responded simply. Again, he was talking as though this wasn't surprising at all to him.</p><p>"What kind of show?"</p><p>The woman in the turquoise and gold outfit, the one from earlier, returned to the room; she'd been standing just outside the door and almost certainly heard the exchange between myself and Lucas the Lucario.</p><p>As she entered, she said, "It's...it's a show that explains stuff. Like this".</p><p>"You probably have a lot of questions," Lucas said. "That's okay. We'll answer as many of them as we can".</p><p>To say that I had a lot of questions was an understatement. I could hardly even think of where to begin, but it wasn't long before another thought occurred to me, one that I couldn't help but to voice aloud.</p><p>"But why did you take me?" I exclaimed in an exasperated fashion. "I was perfectly fine before you guys found me! Couldn't you have found a different hospital that wasn't a TV studio?"</p><p>Another heavy pause followed, during which time Lucas began tapping his feet against the floor. I allowed myself to wonder whether this was an unintentional impulse or something he was doing on purpose to allow himself to think about how to reply.</p><p>"We got a letter," the woman said eventually. "It said if we didn't take you, someone else would. And then you'd be dead".</p><p>I took a few moments to digest that information. <em>Well, that escalated quickly, </em>I thought. Clearly someone was on the hunt after me, but that begged the following question:</p><p>"Who wants to kill me?" I blurted out. "I have no idea where I am!"</p><p>Yet another silence. These people took a long time to answer questions, and I wondered if, in deciding how much information they were going to give me, they were deliberately hiding things from me that I really ought to know.</p><p>Finally, the woman said, "There have been people threatening you online. They're probably jealous of you for something, but I don't know what that could possibly be".</p><p><em>Of course she doesn't know what they could be jealous of me for. What is there to envy? I'm so boneheaded that I ended up </em>here, <em>in some crazy world. A reckless paradise, if you will.</em></p><p>And then I realized the implications of what this woman was telling me. The full implications, not just what she had explicitly said.</p><p>Someone wanted to kill me. That someone was clearly aware of my existence in this world, and probably knew which hospital I was in.</p><p>
  <em>They have more information than me. I don't even know the name of this hospital.</em>
</p><p>There were other questions still, questions that had no easy answers. All of them were confusing, and they swirled around and around my mind like clothing does in a washing machine on the spin cycle. All of them, however, converged on a single, simple conclusion.</p><p>
  <em>I'm not safe here.</em>
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